Activation in Windows 10

Applies to:Windows 10

Activation helps verify that your copy of Windows is genuine and hasn’t been used on more devices than the Microsoft Software License Terms allow.

Depending on how you got your copy of Windows 10, activation uses either a digital license or a 25-character product key. Without one of these, activation can't continue, and one can't be substituted for the other.

A digital license (called a digital entitlement in Windows 10, Version 1511) is a method of activation in Windows 10 that doesn't require you to enter a product key. If you upgraded to Windows 10 for free from an activated copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you should have a digital license instead of a product key.

A Windows product key is a 25-character code used to activate Windows. It looks like this: